I recently had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Mitchell Yell discuss the important topic of adapted physical education (APE) and special education law. Dr. Yell is the Fred and Francis Lester Palmetto Chair of the Teacher Education and Special Education departments at University of South Carolina. During the summer of 2019, Dr. Yell was the keynote speaker at the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities. In addition, Dr. Yell has published 124 journal articles, 4 textbooks, 26 book chapters, and has conducted numerous workshops on various aspects of special education law, classroom management, and progress monitoring. His textbook, Special Education and the Law, is in its 5th edition. Within this podcast episode we discuss how IDEA came to incorporate specific language related to physical education, how one can help advocate for APE within the IEP process, and specific court cases that have dealt with special education law and physical education.
Recently, myself and some colleagues (Lieberman, Wiener, Tymeson, 2018) created and validated a checklist to help parents and teachers advocate for APE services within the IEP process. Use this checklist to make sure the IEP Team fully addresses physical education services and placement options.
